Bringing Asha Home by Uma Krishnaswami and illustrated by Jamel Akib

For this weeks blogs, I will be blogging about realistic contemporary fiction. It is the genre my group chose to research, and the books I found fit the category perfectly.

Bringing Asha Home by Uma Krishnaswami and illustrated by Jamal Akib is a book that follows a little boy and his family and their anxious wait for the arrival of his new baby sister. However, their wait is not the typical nine months followed by a trip to the hospital. His parents chose to adopt a little girl named Asha who is from India, and they must wait a very long time before she can join their family.

There were several things I really enjoyed about this book. First, I think that the story line was exceptional. It followed the boy, Arun, and his frustrations and excitement regarding the long wait for Asha. He wanted a little sister, and the author chose to mention an Indian tradition that brothers and sisters do called Rakhi. In the back of the book, the author elaborates on the holiday. By doing this as well as portraying a racially mixed family, the author is really displaying diversity which I think is great. Another aspect I observed and thought was well done was that the author carried certain elements through from the beginning to the end. For example, the little boy made airplanes throughout the book for his sister as gifts and because he kept wondering about how/when she would arrive. In the end, he ends up making her a beautiful airplane that his father takes with him when he goes to India to pick her up. Another element I really like was the fact that the author had a note at the end which talked about adoption. The illustrations in the book are detailed and look as though they are lifelike, and I really thought the illustrator did an excellent job. However, they are done in a way that makes the pictures look a little blurred.

If I could change anything about this book, it would have to be adding more to the story regarding the wait and what Arun did to prepare for his sister. I liked the repeating theme of paper airplanes, but I think there could have been less referencing to that. In its place, I would suggest making mention of more emotions and activities Arun did to prepare.

I think this book is a nice choice for all children, especially children who have adopted siblings or are adopted. It also shows diversity, so all children could benefit from that. True to the genre, this book clearly represents contemporary realistic fiction.